Stamford residents seek stricter protection for historic...

1of6The 2018 South End Neighborhood Study conducted for the Land Use Bureau delineates areas of the South End that are meant for development, open space and, in blue, the historic district buildings. Land Use Bureau Chief Ralph Blessing said that the area in blue "is relatively safe" from new developments.Photo: Humberto J. Rocha / Hearst Connecticut Media

2of6A current Zoning Map and Historic District Demolition Map from the 2018 South End Neighborhood Study commissioned by the Land Use Bureau.

3of6Property 18 Walter Wheeler Drive is photograph on Sept. 13, 2019 in Stamford, Connecticut. A group of South End residents and business owners are proposing a plan to designate the neighborhood as a local historic district in an effort to ward off future developments in the area. This effort, advocates say, is "the only way to maintain and enhance a high quality of life for an area that has been taken advantage of over many years."Photo: Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media

4of6Property at 644 Atlantic Street (Blickensderfer building), is photograph on Sept. 13, 2019 in Stamford, Connecticut. A group of South End residents and business owners are proposing a plan to designate the neighborhood as a local historic district in an effort to ward off future developments in the area. This effort, advocates say, is "the only way to maintain and enhance a high quality of life for an area that has been taken advantage of over many years."Photo: Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media

5of6Property at 644 Atlantic Street (Blickensderfer building), is photograph on Sept. 13, 2019 in Stamford, Connecticut. A group of South End residents and business owners are proposing a plan to designate the neighborhood as a local historic district in an effort to ward off future developments in the area. This effort, advocates say, is "the only way to maintain and enhance a high quality of life for an area that has been taken advantage of over many years."Photo: Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media

6of6Holy Name Rectory (4 Pulaski Street) is photograph on Sept. 13, 2019 in Stamford, Connecticut. A group of South End residents and business owners are proposing a plan to designate the neighborhood as a local historic district in an effort to ward off future developments in the area. This effort, advocates say, is "the only way to maintain and enhance a high quality of life for an area that has been taken advantage of over many years."Photo: Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media

About a third of the buildings in that 177-acre area no longer exist, however, and extensive development in the last decade and a half has some South End preservation advocates calling for a more stringent designation to protect historic structures in their community.

“We’re trying to stop all of this overdevelopment which could occur all over Stamford and in other neighborhoods. Hopefully this will awaken people to take some importance in historic preservation,” said Sue Halpern, vice chair of the South End Neighborhood Revitalization Zone.

Some members of the NRZ, including Halpern and President Terry Adams, a Board of Representatives member for District 3, signed a letter dated May 16 addressed to the city’s Board of Representatives highlighting their concerns and advocating for the establishment of a local historic district — which would ultimately have to be approved by the Board of Representatives — as defined by Connecticut General Statutes.

“As you know, a good portion of this area is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, however, sadly, some of the prior structures are no longer standing, others are struggling within the shadows of high rises, surrounded by construction equipment or in unsightly disrepair and others are under the potential threat of being removed over time,” the letter read.

A city-approved historic district would better protect certain buildings and structures, the letter said, and “enable an awareness of current and future development plans and an opportunity for the neighborhood to weigh in accordingly.”

While advocates of the proposal form part of the NRZ, this effort, they said, is independent of the organization.

“I’m urging the Board of Representatives to work with us,” Doris Ganues, a South End resident of 50 years, said at the Sept. 3 Board of Representatives meeting. “We’re only trying to look out for our best interests in light of the new development in the South End.”

A city-established historic district is not to be confused with a National Register of Historic Places designation. The latter, while nationally recognized, doesn’t hold the regulatory sway like the former, according to Land Use Bureau Chief Ralph Blessing.

If developers want to build or renovate historic buildings in a city-approved historic district, they would have to apply to do so through a local commission, a body that would be comprised of community residents.

“Any work within that (city-approved) historic district needs to be approved by a historic district commission and that’s much stricter control,” Blessing said. “If you have a historic building and it’s outlined as such, for that building you’d have to get permission from the commission to renovate.”

Underlying zoning regulations are also key, however.

For example, not much development happens in the Old Long Ridge Village Historic District, Blessing said, as its zoning is specified for single-family residences though there is some property legally grandfathered for commercial uses.

A map in the South End Neighborhood Study published last October for the Land Use Bureau delineates the “Historic District Buildings” area and other parts of the South End that are designated for development and open space.

“The two long blocks between Atlantic, Pacific, Henry and Dock Streets, east and west of Garden Street, are an important link between areas of remaining historic housing and commercial/industrial fabric,” the study said. “Retaining and reinvesting in the historic buildings and urban pattern in these blocks will knit together new and old, maintain affordable housing that cannot easily be replaced, and keep the identity of this corridor diverse.”

Blessing said there is no intention of changing zoning regulations to allow for more development in the areas where historic district buildings are concentrated.

“Most of the current historic structures, the zoning is relatively strict,” Blessing said. “Most of the remaining historic district is actually in a zoning district where you can’t build a whole lot of new stuff. From a zoning perspective, it’s relatively safe.”

Stamford-based developer Building and Land Tecnology, who has established a footprint in the South End by raising apartment buildings and also carrying out renovation projects, said the effort to designate parts of the area as a local historic district had never been presented to the public, at NRZ meetings nor to affected property owners.

“We understand that there are only a handful of people making the proposal and many South End property owners and residents are not in favor. Much of the South End is already in a federally-designated historic district,” Chief Operating Officer Ted Ferrarone said referring to the National Register of Historic Places label.

Ferrarone said the developer was “very much in favor of historic preservation in general” and they had preserved more than 315,000 square feet of historic buildings in the neighborhood like the Lofts, 737 Canal St., 7 Market St., 845 Canal St. and the Pacific Street firehouse, which was approved Sept. 9 by the Zoning Board.

A local historic district study committee first has to be approved by a city’s legislative body. Said committee would then investigate and submit findings to various town bodies that include: an analysis of the historic significance of the proposed area, a map with exact boundaries and proposed ordinances for the operation of the historic district.

The report is then submitted to various town bodies who can submit comments. The committee would follow by holding a public hearing regarding the gathered information, a process that could prove to be expensive.

All real property owners in the affected area — in a move that would show how residents feel about the historic district proposal — would be sent ballots by the town clerk.

Two-thirds of affected property owners must vote in approval of the historic district proposal in order for the motion to continue to the Board of Representatives who, in a majority vote, would ultimately accept or reject the effort.

The regular members would be Halpern, Carmine Tomas, Sheila Barney, Peter Quigley, Elizabeth McCauley and Estelle McCauley. Alternate members would be Robert Katchko, Fran Gerety and Barry Michelson.

The Land Use-Urban Redevelopment Committee is scheduled to discuss the historic district study committee resolution at its Sept. 25 meeting at 7 p.m. in the Democratic Caucus Room of Stamford Government Center, 888 Washington Blvd.